Conquer The Top Salesforce Security Threats of 2024 with the Best Practices
Global cybercrime damage costs are speculated to reach $10.5 trillion annually, an increase of 15% per year. Considering the recent phishing attacks, Salesforce World is also facing rising security risks. It is better to identify the growing risks of salesforce security threats and be prepared to tackle them. In this detailed guide, we are highlighting the most serious security threats in the Salesforce world and the best practices to dodge them.
Top Salesforce Security Threats of 2024
Soaring Threats of AI
Artificial Intelligence has become a double-edged sword for cybersecurity. On the one hand, AI-powered anti-malware tools are helping to mitigate and thwart attacks, but there are also tools that lower the entry barriers for cybercrimes. The latter are used to create phishing campaigns, develop hacking tools, and assist credit card fraud. Their abilities to write wrongful code, detect system weaknesses, and design elusive malware expand the phishing framework.
Reinforced and Consistent Phishing Tactics
Gone are the days when phishing attackers used to rely on emails. The traditional tactics have been fortified and new strategies involve the use of public-facing apps. These apps allow phishers to extend their threats to various facets of the digital world.
In 2023, Hackers capitalized on a zero-day vulnerability in SMTP servers and Salesforce email services to launch a phishing campaign targeting Facebook accounts.
The Lack of Visibility
It is alarming the number of companies using Salesforce that have no visibility into potential cyber threats. The lack of threat visibility along with no malware scanning increases the threats and the risk of being attacked. Unfortunately, Salesforce does not offer visibility into cyber threats in the system, meaning companies must find a way around this inefficiency as visibility is the foundation of a good security strategy.
Accelerating Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware attacks can be devasting for companies costing them in downtimes, system upgrades, compensation, recovery, forensic and legal challenges. With the attackers becoming more resilient and sophisticated in their approach, companies must adopt an initiative-taking security strategy to protect Salesforce environments.
Ignoring the Security Threats
Ignoring minor configuration errors can result in grave breaches. According to a report, misconfigured Salesforce settings have granted unauthorized access to sensitive data. This is a major security gap since default settings allow more than necessary access. Ensure to test access settings properly and disable unwarranted external sharing.
Understanding Salesforce Security Features
Salesforce security circles around three components including:
Security Health Check: It is designed for admins to detect and rectify vulnerabilities from a central dashboard. You will get a summary score reflecting your security status against the Salesforce Baseline Standard.
Security Infrastructure: Salesforce has robust internet security technology. Salesforce-supported browser ensures that the data is protected via Transport Layer Security technology. This maintains data integrity and grants access to authenticated users only.
Salesforce Shield: It is another powerful solution that includes effective tools to ascertain trust, governance, and compliance. Core components of this tool include Field Audit Trail, Shield Platform Encryption, and Field Audit Trail.
Auditing: The features provide insights into system usage, detection factors, and security issue resolutions. Auditing is more valuable when it is combined with internal audits to scrutinize and mitigate misuse.
Phishing and Malware: trust.salesforce.com provides real-time data on security alerts, phishing or malware attempts, and security alerts. The website also provides best practices and guidelines to ensure your organization stays secure. Moreover, you can also report any suspicious encounter in your Salesforce setup to security@salesforce.com.
Best Salesforce Security Practices
User Access Management
It is important to create clear profiles and role hierarchies to provide access levels within the organization. By aligning job responsibilities with roles and profiles, users can control who can access, edit, or delete records and functionalities.
Additionally, you must create custom permission sets customized to responsibilities or tasks, allowing access to additional functionalities to users without compromising security. Add an extra layer of security to the Salesforce landscape by adding multi-factor authentication. Users will go through multiple verification forms to access the platform.
Regular Health Check Up
Regular health check-up allows the managers to comprehensively evaluate and improve the security configurations. The Health Check tool in Salesforce helps in finding security issues and offers rectifications. You can also manage tailored standards for Salesforce Implementation. This is a seamless way to ensure that your security protocols are aligned with your business requirements.
Secure the Integration of Third-Party App
Screen third-party apps thoroughly prior to the integration process. Review security practices, customer reviews, and certifications. Additionally, ensure that the app complies with your security policies and practices.
Moreover, you must regularly monitor and assess the integrations to maintain the security accordance. Another important security step is to follow the ‘principle of least privilege.’ This means you will only provide minimum permissions to necessary users. This will significantly mitigate the risk of unauthorized access or data leakage.
Data Protection Strategies
Data loss prevention encompasses encryption and tokenization, which are effective in protecting sensitive data. Additionally, monitoring and auditing user activity is also paramount in detecting risks and ensuring compliance with security policies. Salesforce’s robust auditing capabilities allow for tracking changes in users’ activities.
Leverage Shield Platform Encryption
Salesforce Shield is an assortment of security technologies that are designed to mitigate salesforce security threats. The goal is to ensure that companies can trust the important apps. Contrary to standard encryption, which only protects data in transmissions, Shield Platform Encryption provides protection when data is stored or at rest. Moreover, it provides Platform Encryption, Field Audit Trail, and Event Monitoring. The collection of such robust tools creates a strong security foundation.
Conclusion
The need for data protection cannot be overstated especially after the growing cases of salesforce security threats. Salesforce is one of the popular CRMs in the world which makes it a security target. However, organizations can protect their salesforce environment by following best practices and ensuring regular audits and compliance.
Managing security can be overwhelming but when you have a dependable team working on the back end you can be rest assured. We at Dazeworks, an iLink Digital Company are fluent in everything related to Salesforce. We can help you with the most secure implementation so that you can be rest assured.
